


Variations on a Theme

by ViciousRhythm



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, Hopeful Ending, Humor, Little bit of angst, Marriage Proposal, fluff for days, spoilers for ep 80
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-15 22:57:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9261854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ViciousRhythm/pseuds/ViciousRhythm
Summary: pro·pos·al/prəˈpōzəl/1. a plan or suggestion, especially a formal or written one, put forward for consideration or discussion by others2. an offer of marriage





	1. in the heat of the moment

**Author's Note:**

> My project for this week is writing a different proposal every day in the week between ep 80 and 81 because if that last episode doesn't kickstart Percy into ensuring commitment, I will be severely disappointed. First chapter is moved over from tumblr

They haven’t even managed to rest, having only barely stumbled out of Thordak’s lair and into the smarting sunlight. Keyleth reaches the entrance first, followed swiftly by Vax and Vex, and Grog with Pike still on his shoulders. He’s refused to put her down now that he’s picked her up. Gilmore, slumping heavily between the twins, keeps trying to hide his grimaces behind a smile and is continually failing. Kima is still supporting Scanlan at her side, and though he’s hamming it up as per usual, there is a shuffling quality to Scanlan’s step that makes it impossible to forget his brush with death. Percy is the last to leave the tunnel save for J’mon Sa Ord who has to duck only slightly to fit comfortably out of the cavern.

“Well,” Scanlan says, almost gratingly cheerful. “That was fun.”

If he weren’t visibly still hurt and the rest of them hardly better, they might have a more displeased reaction, but Pike - of all people - starts laughing and the rest follow. It’s not a truly happy sound, borne of sheer relief and hysteria. Kima pulls back to punch him, thinks better of it, and begrudgingly dredges up a healing spell for the gnome. 

Around them, but distant, there are still the echoes of a battle being fought, but something seems to have broken. Some innate connection and knowledge must have made Thordak’s supporters aware of his death, because there are no stragglers waiting to pick off the battered Vox Machina. There are still of course pools of lava and the wreckage of Emon’s bastardized landscape, but no immediate threat more pressing than the geography itself. The group, some barely standing, takes in the brief moment of respite and there is an almost palpable sense of bitter gratefulness. Anything more might kill them where they stand.

It is at that thought that Percy’s gaze turns toward Vex, so beautifully, gloriously alive and breathing when for too many seconds, she hadn’t been. It’s the second time he’s watched her die and something in Percy’s mind clicks over. His mouth is open before he even tries to think about it.

“Vex’ahlia.” She’s across the gathered group from him, so that he has to raise his voice slightly to be heard, but she meets his eyes, her own tired and over-bright. “Will you marry me?”

Everything, for a handful of seconds, freezes. Percy almost thinks he’s managed to somehow set off a trap that stops time or something, but then Keyleth blinks as her mouth drops open. For once in their lives, Vox Machina manages not to immediately chime in with unnecessary comments, instead staring hard at either percy or Vex. As the seconds drag on, more eyes turn to Vex, who is still silent.

“Percy…” Vex sways on her feet, either from shock or her wounds, Percy isn’t sure. He swallows hard when she doesn’t say anything else, mouth open soundlessly.

“It’s bad timing, I know,” he says briskly. “But gods forbid something else tries to kill us in the next five minutes, I’d rather have had the chance to ask than not.”

“You must be  _ very _ good in bed,” Vax mutters, just barely audible beside his sister. Of course Vax knows, and Percy just doesn’t  _ care _ to be embarrassed about it. He can’t even bring himself to look away from Vex for the instant it would take to give half a damn about anyone else’s reaction. Hers is the only one that matters. And he’s not letting anything more happen to either of them without getting across exactly how much she means to him and exactly how much he doesn’t want to lose her, to anything, ever.

“I guess that’s a yes on the following through, then,” Keyleth says a bit meekly.

“Yes,” Vex practically stutters out. “Yes, he followed through, obviously and - Yes. Provided we can survive to any sort of wedding. Yes.”

“Good,” Percy says, resettling Bad News across his shoulders. “Now that that’s settled, shall we take a rest before somebody keels over?”

It would be in poor taste to cross a recent battlefield and attempt to kiss the breath out of Vex when she so recently got it back, so Percy shelves that idea for later. And they  _ will _ have a later and he won’t take so bloody long about it this time. Just as long as it takes for everyone to stop looking as though death is hovering just at their heels.

By unspoken agreement, they start making their way toward a cluster of less ruined-looking buildings, intent on a short rest to at the very least prepare for the no doubt perilous trek toward their allies. Vax falls in step with Percy, leaving his sister to cast a weak but vital cure wounds spell on Gilmore as they walk.

“You are an odd duck, Freddy,” Vax says, eyeing him carefully. He can punch Percy again for all he cares. Percy is bone tired and somewhat light-headed with relief, probably punch drunk despite the fact he’d taken relatively little damage in this fight.

“Yes, well,” Percy shrugs, glancing between Vex and Vax with a foolish and probably self-satisfied grin on his face. “It does seem to run in the family.”


	2. comedy of errors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tradition is not as predictable as one might think.

Once, when he was old enough to be interested and still young enough to romanticize these things, Percy had asked his mother how she proposed to his father. Their marriage hadn’t been exactly arranged, but it had been strongly encouraged by their parents, so Johanna hadn’t worried overmuch about whether her proposal would be accepted. 

“It was really just time,” Johanna had said, tucking her son’s unruly hair behind his ear with a fond smile. “When the time is right, you know. And all the fancy trappings in the world matter much less than the asking.

Percy would like to think he’s fairly good with timing. If anything, he’s a bit late, a step behind when it comes to Vex at least. He finds himself thinking about timing and commitments and the things his mother told him when he has hours to himself. Tinkering in his workshop, he thinks about it and wonders if he’s being old fashioned. What he and Vex have is good, solid, proven by time and hardship and Percy would never complain about it in any situation. But.

It’s been years since things slowed down and the members of Vox Machina settled into much less exciting lives than their time fighting dragons and gods. Not that having to learn how to be an actual leader was boring, Percy thinks wryly. It was a blessing and a half to have not only Cassandra and her experience at his side, but Vex’ahlia and her compassionate practicality as well. Percy’s not sure he could have become anything like an acceptable lord - a title that still fits a bit too tight - without the both of them.

Wanting more from Vex seems presumptuous, if Percy’s being honest with himself. He keeps working on the project before him, turning over the thought anyway. It’s safe to think about wanting to...to settle down properly while Percy is in the privacy of his workshop, half his mind set to the task of tempering steel. He can think about futures and rings and the impropriety of wanting to pressure Vex into asking him that all-important question. It’s not his place and when she’s ready, she’ll ask him. If she wants to.

It doesn’t matter, Percy tells himself firmly. Just because he’s thinking about marriage doesn’t mean Vex is. They are a good pair, they understand each other and generally wind up on the same page even if they don’t start there, but that doesn’t mean they have to be in agreement on everything. And Vex is from a much less traditional upbringing than Percy. Her thoughts on marriage may be very different from his. Frankly, Percy is a little too scared to ask, in case Vex admits she never wants to get married, or not to him. No, much better to just wait and not try to pressure her.

So he waits for the right time that his mother told him would come, and Percy is bafflingly happy in the interim. With the teleportation circle reinstalled in Whitestone and Keyleth making regular use of the Sun Tree as a doorway, every member of his found family is easily within reach. His sister is shaping up to be a fine young lady, the pair of them sharing the responsibility of ruling Whitestone as it continues to grow and flourish. And there is, unfailingly, Vex.

She has her own home on the land tied to her title, and while Vex spends a fair amount of time there, she spends far more time in and around the castle itself. It’s a much simpler life now that they aren’t near constantly watching their backs for the next adventure, and Vex takes to it swimmingly. She has by no means kicked her habit of adopting strays of any species and Percy soon finds his home filled with all manner of creatures in addition to Trinket and the pair of aasimar boys who never quite managed to leave. Vex has started taking lessons in Celestial from Percy for the boys’ sake and to satisfy her curiosity, a time spent on their own that Percy particularly likes. They don’t make stunningly quick progress with the language, per se, but they do enjoy themselves.

It’s all perfectly wonderful and Percy can ignore the nagging question in the back of his mind right up until his somewhat restless patience butts up against new information.

“How did Vax propose anyway?” Vex asks on a not-so-special night when Keyleth is there on a visit. Percy has her adjusting the airflow over his work, a task that requires very little concentration on her part, so she and Vex have been idly chatting as he works. His hand falters for just a moment, sure he must have only heard wrong.

“Oh, it was so sweet,” Keyleth gushes. “He had it all planned out, right? And he’d already talked to my father I guess -”

“Sorry,” Percy interrupts, pausing in his work to peer at Keyleth in slight confusion. “Vax asked  _ you _ ?”

“Well, yes,” Keyleth says, looking just as bewildered as him. “Anyway, it really was very sweet.”

Percy tunes out most of the story, cataloguing it for later review with half his attention while the rest sinks into contemplation. His hands continue on, not needing much more than muscle memory for the task. Lost in thought, he doesn’t notice Vex’s eyes on him, concerned in response to his abrupt lack of attention and downturned mouth.

“You sounded surprised earlier,” Vex says much later in the evening, perched on the end of the bed and loosing her hair from its braid with gentle fingers. “When I asked about how Vax proposed.”

“I suppose I was just surprised he didn’t let Keyleth ask is all,” Percy says, folding his discarded clothing into precise squares.

“Why would he?” Vex doesn’t so much whip around to face him as she does slide backward and sideways, starting to tuck her feet under the blankets when she reaches the head of the bed. 

“It’s not exactly usual for a man to…” Percy trails off when he turns to find Vex looking at him as though he’s making no sense at all. “I know it’s probably old fashioned, and I shouldn’t assume Vax and Keyleth would adhere to traditional roles, of course.”

“I really think they did, in this case,” Vex says, a tinge of laughter in her voice. “The man usually does the proposing.”

Percy stills where he is, processing Vex’s statement and how she sounds so very sure when it goes directly against the traditions Percy knows. He doesn’t say anything for a moment, following Vex into bed but leaving the candle burning behind him.

“Did you know I was raised knowing an entirely different custom,” he says carefully, watching Vex’s face. “It’s funny, I suppose marriage proposals don’t often come up as topics of discussion outside of weddings. But my mother proposed to my father, and Vesper was meant to ask for some young man’s hand one day.”

“So the women do the asking in Whitestone?” Vex asks, voice lowered in deference to their proximity. She has a glimmer of calculation in her eyes, one that some might call greed but that Percy has always thought of as astute.

“Generally, yes.”

Percy watches Vex bite her lower lip, worrying the flesh with her teeth in a nervous gesture. It leaves her mouth pink and tempting, but Percy has had plenty of time for the urgency to fade between them into constancy. He will have time to act on the kick of physical want in his gut when Vex isn’t visibly debating her next words. At the moment his thoughts are slightly preoccupied with the idea that maybe  _ he  _ could...

“Percy,” she says after a few seconds of weighted silence, her hand skating over his collarbone to rest lightly on the bend between his shoulder and neck. “Do you want to marry me?”

At first he thinks he’s misheard in some way. This was a hypothetical conversation, one that had opened a door to allowing  _ him _ to ask  _ Vex _ to marry him once he’s worked out how to do it best. Percy had already been working on contemplations including roses and moonlight, so it takes a moment for his mind to catch up to the present moment. Which is a rather important one. There are no roses, of course, and the heavy drapes have blocked out the moon through the window, but Vex’s face is lit in warm candlelight, worry lines appearing around her eyes the longer Percy lies there uselessly not answering her.

“I do,” he gets out finally, his voice coming out a strange gravelly thing that takes Percy by surprise. “I would like that very much.”

“I don’t have a ring or anything,” Vex says, slightly rushed and looking a cross between elated and annoyed.

“We can deal with the details later,” Percy assures her, moving forward and giving in to the urge to press his mouth to hers where it’s still slightly swollen. Vex weaves her fingers into his hair, body bending toward his as they draw out their kiss.

“I was waiting for -”

“I was waiting for  _ you _ ,” Vex says, cutting him off in a relieved rush. “I thought maybe you just didn’t want -”

“No.” Percy cuts her off in turn, more decisively. “I very much want to marry you. I’ve been thinking about it for...a while.”

“Perhaps you ought to consider putting action to thought more often, darling,” Vex teases, nipping his lower lip too quickly for him to catch her properly. He takes her advice immediately, sliding his palm to curl around her jaw and hold her still for another unhurried kiss. Percy can feel her smile into it even as Vex rolls onto her back and pulls him with her. He breaks for only a short moment to blow out the candle he will definitely not remember in a moment, then happily lets Vex draw him back to her in the darkness of their room.


	3. that's my line

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday to blackestglass and thanks for letting me babble about this idea so I could make it happen :)
> 
> Keyleth steps in.

Now that Percy is no longer in a race with himself to get to the end of his life, it’s much easier to let things go. It’s easier to let life take him where it will at its own pace, and Percy can wait. He’s not a ticking time bomb anymore, but he forgets sometimes, not to be the opposite.

Keyleth, on the other hand, has a much longer lifespan than Percy could ever hope to and yet somehow manages to be less patient. She dives in face-first to things in a way that makes Percy do whatever the internal version of a wince is. Often, it doesn’t turn out well, but often Keyleth has the gumption to simply shake it off and stand back up. It’s one of the things Percy finds both baffling and admirable about her.

Percy and Vex aren’t like that. They both take to heart the blows dealt them and ruminate far past what might be considered healthy or good for them. But in most cases, it winds up teaching a lesson with the both of them coming out better for their pains. Sometimes, it takes throwing the things they’ve seen and lessons they’ve learned at each other, but they stumble through and work it out. It was perhaps the first glimmer of attraction Percy felt for Vex - recognizing another person like himself and yet so very different.

What some call greed, Percy has always seen as a fierce authenticity. Vex has always wanted to get the most out of everything in life, and that genuine desire and unabashed spirit had been so curious to him at the beginning. Of course, fascination turned slowly into much more than that with the sort of gradual and natural slide that makes it hard to pinpoint one moment when Percy looked at Vex and saw not just a friend but someone he desperately wanted in all sorts of intimate ways.

The miraculous thing is that it didn’t stay just a want. Percy has had the privilege of relearning Vex first hand from much closer than before, and he’s constantly finding new things about her to adore. Impossible as it seems, he’s somehow managed to be more in love with her today than the day before, and every day before that. His mistake is sharing that feeling with Keyleth during one of their discussions, because Keyleth  _ still _ hasn’t become any less inclined to dive head-first into things and she won’t leave him alone.

“All I’m saying is Vex won’t wait forever,” Keyleth says, only catching the possible meaning when Percy grimaces as a swoop of worry goes through his stomach. “Um, not that Vex would like... _ leave _ or anything. She loves you a lot, but you know, Vex doesn’t like waiting all that much and I don’t want her to get all insecure because she doesn’t know if  _ you _ want to commit.”

“Keyleth,” Percy starts, less annoyed than he might feel is appropriate and more weary than he feels is fair. “I do think we’ve reached a point of agreement that we’re fairly committed to each other and I’m not worried.” This is a lie because Percy is always a little bit worried, but that’s only because he still gets confused sometimes by how lucky he really is.

Keyleth lets it go for the moment, but Percy doesn’t fool himself in thinking the discussion is fully over. Keyleth thinks things over with the same sort of obsessive attention one gives to a scab they’ve sworn not to pick at anymore. So he’s less than surprised when it comes up again a handful of days later.

“You know,” she says in a voice that is lofty enough Percy sees right through the fake flippancy. “You and Vex have been together a while now. And she’s pretty set on living here in Whitestone.”

“Yes,” Percy agrees carefully, not looking up from his writing though he’s unable to focus on it while talking.

“I’m just thinking it might not be too much of a stretch to think you two are going to spend your lives together,” Keyleth goes on, also not looking directly at Percy. “It wouldn’t be a big deal to make it official.”

Percy sighs, setting aside his pen and looking over so that Keyleth meets his gaze with her lips tucked between her teeth. He’s not sure if it’s to hide a nervous expression or a smile.

“We’re going at our own pace,” Percy says firmly. “I don’t see you and Vax tying the knot either, and you’ve been together longer than Vex and I.”

True to form, Keyleth turns a bit pink when faced with discussing her relationship with Vax, as Percy was counting on. She fiddles with the edge of a page in her book, glancing at it for a second before she meets Percy’s eye again. Unfortunately, it looks as though she’s determined enough she’s willing to weather her own embarrassment to press the issue.

“We’re...working out some things with Gilmore,” she says finally. “We’ve talked about it though, and I’ve still got a lot I need to do before I’m ready to - but anyway, this isn’t about me. What are you scared of? You know Vex would say yes.”

“I’m not scared,” Percy says, immediately defensive. “I’m taking my time because there’s no rush. It’s not like we’re swanning off to go kill some legendary beast every other day anymore and living on borrowed time.”

Keyleth frowns at that and grumbles a bit, but she can’t exactly fault him for his perspective, so she huffily opens her book again and continues reading. Percy continues his work as well and makes a mental note to talk to Vex and make sure they are in agreement on this.

“You’re happy, aren’t you?” he asks apropos of seemingly nothing one afternoon. Vex lowers her bow, sending him a perplexed look.

“Of course I am. Do I seem unhappy to you?”

“No, no,” Percy assures her quickly. Vex draws again, smoothly releasing an arrow to watch it sink into it’s target far down the range. “I’ve been thinking and I know things are a bit different now that our lives are a bit less, ah, adventurous. I just wanted to be sure you’re happy with... _ things _ as they are.”

“If you want to know whether I miss it,” Vex says, drawing again and taking aim, releasing as she goes on, “of course there are moments. It’s quite the thing going from dragonslayer to baroness. But I think it suits me, don’t you?”

The grin Vex gives him at that is so open and guileless Percy feels a bit of tension release in his chest he had been valiantly pretending didn’t exist. Their conversation drifts afterward, the pointless banter of two people familiar with each other and every subject between them. It would have been the end of it, but there is a rule of thirds to be obeyed in the universe and Percy’s life trends toward madness so obviously it must come up a third time, and the most absurd for being the third instance.

This time it isn’t in the privacy of the library or workshop, but when their entire group is gathered together for a much more peaceful Winter’s Crest than some of those they’ve had before. Percy isn’t even talking to Keyleth when it happens, engaged in a debate with Scanlan about whether or not they’ll be commissioning a plaque inscribed with his Resident Evil epic to display. Percy has already decided it will not be happening and that his compromise of having it preserved in both Whitestone castle’s library and Gilmore’s library in town in printed format is more than fair.

“You know what would be a great Winter’s Crest gift?” Keyleth asks loudly, facing Vex but making her voice carry enough that Percy hears her clearly. “A ring.”

Percy closes his eyes and releases a breath as evenly as he can. Across from him at the table, Scanlan gets a suspicious look that, when Percy opens his eyes and sees, promises disaster of the unpredictable kind. He really should keep a better eye on Keyleth alcohol intake, it’s better for everyone if she doesn’t get sloshed.

“Especially if it’s from someone special,” Keyleth goes on, no quieter. 

“Keyleth,” Percy starts warningly.

“What?” Keyleth shrugs expansively in the worst attempt at looking innocent Percy has ever seen in his life. Which is saying something. “I’m just saying with the holiday, people are doing all sorts of things with, you know,  _ the future _ in mind. And don’t you think a ring would look great on Vex? Maybe on her left hand?”

Percy can actually feel his mouth drop open at the absolute lack of subtlety. Across from Keyleth, Vex nearly spits out her drink, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth while she struggles to swallow and not choke. Vax helpfully smacks her on the back, which makes Vex swallow her drink if only for the needed freedom to slap her brother back.

“Are you proposing to Vex  _ for _ Percy?” Scanlan asks, sounding delighted. Percy’s life is a nightmare.

“I don’t know,” Keyleth says pointedly, whipping around to stare hard at Percy. “Am I?”

“Evidently you are,” Percy grits out because while he’s not opposed to the idea by any means, he  _ did _ intend to do it as his own pace. But then Vox Machina has never been entirely good at  _ not _ sticking their noses into each other’s business. Keyleth takes absolutely no notice of the daggers he’s attempting to glare at her, or she’s so damn used to them by now she just doesn’t care anymore.

“Great!” Keyleth turns back to Vex, who’s managed to catch her breath. “So will you marry Percy?”

Vex’s eyes dart between Keyleth and Percy, settling on him. She doesn’t actually say anything, but he can read her well enough by now to interpret the question on her face. Accepting that he will forever be cursed with over-invested friends and no control over his own life, Percy just nods, allowing himself an extremely beleaguered smile. His stomach turns over fitfully, nervous for an answer he didn’t even get the chance to ask after.

Instead of answering, Vex leans toward her brother, cupping her hand over her mouth to whisper in his ear. Vax keeps his face impassive, deliberately hard to read - the bastard - with his eyes locked on Percy. They both straighten after a moment, Vex laying her hands politely across her lap with a grin tucked in the corner of her mouth.

“My sister will marry Percy,” Vax tells Keyleth, as though they’re discussing a business transaction. “But that ring had better be both beautiful and able to stand up to some damage.”

“That’s a good idea,” Keyleth nods in agreement. “Percy, you should make the rings out of something strong.”

“I’ll take that under advisement,” he says flatly, still watching Vex, whose smile has grown to a full one, stretching her face into an earnestly joyful expression.

“I thought it only fair I get someone else to answer for me,” Vex shrugs. “Since you didn’t exactly ask yourself.”

“Well,” Percy sighs. “At the very least, it’ll make for an entirely confusing story. I never asked and you never answered.”

“What  _ will _ the children think,” Vex says teasingly and Percy’s thinking halts. It feels suddenly as though the past minute just caught up because Vex agreed to marry him and she’s even brought up  _ children _ now. His face must be somewhat poleaxed, because Vex’s eyes crinkle at the corners in the way they always do when she’s laughing at him, but Percy cannot bring himself to mind one bit.

“So, we’ll talk later,” she finishes decisively.

“Why, you - ” Percy stutters, caught up in his own laughter so that he doesn’t bother to finish trying to be outraged. It’s no use anyway, not with how warmly fond he is of his clever fiancee calling back to a private moment that no one but the two of them will understand the significance of. “Yes, I suppose we will.”

In a moment of what Percy thinks of as brilliance, he makes it their room before Vex does when the hour has grown late enough they all part ways, divesting himself of his clothing in a hurry when he gets there. He makes it with only seconds to spare, rushing to lock the door. The knob twitches when Vex tries it and there is a pause that Percy can only imagine is Vex being confused as to why in the nine hells their door would be locked before she knocks sharply.

“Percy?”

“Yes, dear,” Percy says loftily when he answers the door, completely naked. Vex blinks and catches her laugh in her fist. Resting one elbow on the doorframe to stand casually close to her, Percy grins, proud of himself. “Did you want to talk before or after?”

“You ass,” Vex laughs, but she puts her hands on his shoulders and pushes him inside, slamming the door shut behind her as they meet in a warm, familiar kiss.


	4. right place; right time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes the moment you're waiting for isn't all that momentous.

Percy has been trying to find the right moment for quite some time now, long enough he’s taken to carrying around the ring he intends to give Vex just in case. He’s picked up the nervous habit of pressing the prongs around the diamond into the tips of his fingers when he’s preoccupied or anxious. If he weren’t very certain that it’s constructed of a very fine combination of precious metals, Percy would have started worrying he’d tarnish it fiddling with the silly thing so often.

He _almost_ asks so many times. He’d started thinking about it after things calmed following the fallout of the Chroma Conclave, when survival was still somewhat uncertain but hope shone on the horizon. The diamond he’d chosen from the bag of jewels Vex once gave him, selected after weeks of hemming and hawing over the choice. The whitestone inlay was a much simpler decision - a request and a promise that Vex will hopefully understand, giving her a piece of his home to carry with her always. As soon as it was finished, the almost moments seemed to appear out of the ether.

Percy had completed the ring only a few weeks before their first anniversary as a couple, a perfectly acceptable time to ask, really. But it hadn’t felt quite _right_ , so he’d let the date pass. Happily enough and with a decent amount of private celebration for the milestone, but without any particular questions.

The next came at Beltane, after the fires had begun to die down and the pair of them lay in the dark, tangled together clothed only in their sweat and the dirt of the forest. Vex had looked achingly free and in her element there with leaves in her hair and the shine of far-off flames lighting her eyes. Percy had thought about the ring in the pocket of his trousers easily within reach, considered the many couples that would be making commitments on the same night, and decided he didn’t want to share the occasion with anyone else. No matter how disconnectedly. So he had instead tugged Vex’s hair finally free of its barely surviving braid and let her settle herself astride him and honor the hell out of the holiday one more time.

There are plenty of others - times when Percy could have asked Vex to marry him as well as discarded plans for a more grand proposal, but none of them seem to fit quite right. Percy knows himself well enough to know he can get trapped in his own mind, and he’s begun to think he’s simply over thinking things. Perhaps there is no perfect moment to ask and he should just set a date, plan something romantic, and ask her. If he doesn’t do it soon, it’s entirely likely Cassandra will push him to it. The only reason no one has yet insisted on having the now official lord of Whitestone advantageously married off is because Percy has told Cassandra he fully intends to propose to Vex. The only problem is how he keeps stumbling over the _when_.

Between the worrying about locking down their future with what really amounts to a symbolic band of metal, there is of course plenty of down time. Percy has never quite managed to shake his habits of tinkering and experimenting with things he perhaps ought not. Vex, on the other hand, settled immediately and enthusiastically into the day to day of a quieter life. She’s been elevated from Vox Machina’s unofficial (and then official) treasurer to having charge of the treasury at Whitestone. Vex handles more paperwork than Percy does these days, keeping track of the various trade, import, and export for the region, and while she is extraordinarily good at it and takes vicious enjoyment in hammering out trade deals, it does at times leave her a bit exhausted.

At such times it’s often safer to find sanctuary in the library. From birth, both Percy and Cassandra were raised to respect the sanctity of the library for its ever-present quiet and wealth of knowledge. Percy finds himself fairly often exactly where he is, doing some reading of his own while Vex dozes nearby. At the moment, she’s propped herself up with a cushion at her back and her legs across Percy’s lap. One of his hands rests lightly on her ankle, leaving and coming back every time he turns a page.

He can’t guess as to what’s woken Vex up when she does blink awake, but she’s always been a much lighter sleeper than him. She makes contented sleepy noises as she wakes, toes pointing as she stretches her legs without moving much. By the time she’s settled into wakefulness, Percy has looked up from his book.

She looks as beautiful as ever, soft at the edges but sharpening rapidly as Percy can never do when waking up. In a slightly rumpled blouse and without her armor, Vex suits the enduring solitude of the library, as though she has always and will always be just here, beside him. Light catches in the escaping wisps of her hair, haloing her face in a gold red haze, and Percy would frame the sight of her in this second if he could, but the most gifted painter could never do her justice.

“What?” Vex asks, brow furrowing lightly at whatever his expression is doing.

“I love you so very much,” Percy says without thinking, hand sliding into his pocket, jostling Vex’s feet slightly. “I’ve been trying to think of the best time, but I don’t think there actually is any such thing as perfect timing, because every day of my life I spend with you is already perfect. Would you do me the honor of spending the rest of them with me?”

The light caught in her hair glances off the ring as Percy holds it out to her, naked in his palm because he’s been carrying the damned thing around so long. The idea of a proper cushioned box for it is long past. Despite the imperfect presentation, Vex looks at it aghast, mouth dropping open just slightly before her gaze tracks up to look at Percy.

“You’re not kneeling,” Vex says, in a baffled voice that Percy knows means she hasn’t thought about it before saying it.

“I can,” he says. “If that will help.”

“No, don’t.” Vex sits up properly, hand reaching out in an abortive move toward his outstretched hand. “You are - You’re asking me to marry you, right?”

“Yes, dear.” Percy feels strangely calm about it, too, having held the idea within himself for so long. He can already guess her answer just by looking at her, but it would be lovely if Vex gave him a verbal yes or no. Vex curls all the way up to sit on her knees next to him, pressing her lips to his while her hands frame his face. She makes an overwrought noise into Percy’s mouth, fingertips dragging across the angles of his jaw as though memorizing the shape of him in her hands.

“Yes,” she says, forehead pressed against Percy’s with only the barest space between them. “I will.”

They stay like that, a strangely sacred space formed between them as Percy takes Vex’s left hand and slides the ring onto the proper finger. It’s a little less bright in the shadow they cast together, but Vex curls her hand jealously the instant it’s on her finger like she’s concerned it might vanish if she doesn’t hold on tight enough. Percy brings her fist up to kiss her knuckles just above the band and Vex lets her hand relax, opening to grip his chin and direct him back to her mouth.

Cassandra is going to be very upset with him, Percy thinks with no real amount of concern. After all this time, he’s sure she expected something spectacular from her brother. Percy falls into kissing Vex, slow and lazy while they hold each other, as effortless as it had been to finally ask, and he supposes Cassandra will just have to learn to live with disappointment in this case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was almost too nervous to post a chapter trying to follow the shockingly lovely response to the last one, you guys are so sweet!


	5. give all my secrets away

In hindsight, Vex shouldn’t have been so surprised. She’s known Percy is the worst kind of lightweight for a while and that he can’t keep his damn mouth shut when he’s been drinking, though he's mostly harmless. Normally it results in a whole lot of hilarity between Percy’s running mouth and Keyleth’s surprising willingness to start fights when the group gets into their cups. Being the two most easily intoxicated, Keyleth and Percy usually end up needing to be watched by their respective significant others. Vax and Vex have accordingly gotten very good at babysitting the pair.

Carting Percy off to their rented room in yet another tavern while traveling is not an unfamiliar practice for Vex. Bringing him back to  _ their _ room isn’t precisely new anymore, not after months together, but it still brings a smile to Vex’s face knowing Percy is hers to take care of. There's an even lighter, less definable feeling brought on by the look he gives her when Vex insists it's time for bed, all trusting and affectionate as he stands to follow her up the stairs.

“Darling,” Vex starts, coaxing Percy along where he’s stopped. “We’ve still got to make it inside the room.”

“So sorry,” he says, slurring atrociously. “I was thinking.”

“And you needed to stop walking for that?” Vex laughs. Percy frowns, looking far more scandalized than is remotely warranted, but he does follow Vex when she pulls him further along the hallway. He rambles a bit more as he goes, ensuring Vex he  _ did _ need to stop because it was a very important thought and deserved all his concentration.

“Important things require concentrating, you see,” Percy says, leaning into Vex as she fights with the key in this tavern’s very stubborn lock. She finally gets it to open, falling in one step with Percy quick on her heels and - gods but he is a mess - giggling quietly to himself when they both trip over their feet.

“I’m sure it’s very important, Percy,” Vex assures him, pushing the man to sit down on the bed so he’ll stop swaying worryingly. He knows this routine well enough, shucking off his jacket with a languid move of his shoulders that Vex would find worthy of pursuing if Percy weren’t clearly and obviously three or four sheets to the wind. It’s not the Vex isn’t assured of her welcome attention no matter his state, but Vex feels much more inclined to treat him softly when he’s like this.

“It  _ is _ ,” he says, nodding decisively as he tries to remove his boots. He fails once, then sets to meticulously picking apart the laces as though a success will negate his previous failure. “And Keyleth is really terrible with secret-keeping when she’s drunk and I know we are both  _quite_ __ drunk. She might tell Vax, but it's _supposed_ to be secret for a few months yet.”

That piques Vex’s interest, because Percy is rarely as forthcoming with secrets as he is when it’s either very dark or he’s very drunk. He’s shared nearly all of them with Vex at this point, but she knows there are some he may never want to fully reveal, no matter how close they are or how much Percy trusts her. There are some things that do not need to be said aloud. However, this sounds much more like a fun sort of secret, judging by his tone. 

Vex likes to think she knows Percy well enough by now to determine whether he’s discussing something he’d rather not. And this sounds like something he’d rather share - a good secret that’s likely kept for the delayed gratification of someone else. Like the commissioned pieces he’d had made after they defeated the Chroma Conclave. That revealed secret hadn’t ruined the end result any, so Vex doesn’t feel bad prying at this one while Percy’s defenses are down.

“And what secret is Keyleth meant to be keeping?” Vex asks, good humor in her voice as she helps Percy with the buttons that appear to be a daunting task in his current state. He peers up at her with the sort of worshipful look that makes Vex feel alternately unworthy and like preening for him. It usually precedes a lovely experience on Vex’s part, but she couldn’t have predicted the answer that Percy gives her following that look.

“I’m going to ask you to marry me,” Percy tells her with the sort of excitement that is usually reserved for children, clasping Vex's hands in his between them and tugging lightly. He’s quite obviously looking forward to the idea and Vex feels an immediate pang of regret that she’s ruined the surprise for both of them. “And Keyleth needed to translate so I could ask for Trinket’s opinion, of course. But she swore she wouldn’t tell anyone else.”

Vex bites her lip because there’s really no good way to respond to something like this. Obviously, Percy hadn’t meant to tell her -  _ ask _ her, rather - like this. He’d probably had something much grander in mind, knowing him. And while Vex can feel her stomach flipping with a mix of nerves and joy, she’s not entirely sure whether she should give him an answer now or pretend he hasn’t just almost proposed. To be fair, it's still a bit early in their relationship to be thinking about actual, honest to Sarenrae marriage. Vex is more than a little tipsy as well, though nowhere near as far gone as Percy is, so her decision-making skills are most definitely in question at the moment. But what she wants to do more than anything is simply accept the almost-proposal and save them both the waiting that Percy seems to have a fondness for putting her through.

“You will, won’t you?” Percy asks plaintively, hands creeping up to rest at the top of her hips where Vex is still standing between his spread legs to help relieve him of his shirt. He's always in control of his hands, steady at her waist, but Percy lets his facial expressions run away with him sometimes, and Vex finds herself feeling sorry for how fast his face goes from delight to concern. He looks so genuinely worried that all Vex can do is lean forward and press her lips to his brow in an adoring kiss.

“Of course I will, dear,” she says, voice hushed and maybe choked a little with tears that she’ll never admit to. Percy takes her agreement at face value, clearly not concerned with the gravity of the secret he’s revealed as he presses his face into Vex’s stomach in front of him. Vex laces her fingers through his hair, holding him gently in place while Percy hums, tugging her shirt up with his thumbs just enough to reveal a patch of skin above the line of her trousers. His lips find that exposed skin with slow and clear intent, and Vex tips her hips backward to pause his progress.

“I think we’d better get to bed,” she suggests. “And you, my love, should drink some water before going to sleep or you’re going to be an absolute bear in the morning.”

“You like bears,” Percy mutters, but he does take the glass of water Vex fetches for him and drains it obediently. He does his best to help Vex out of her clothes, but she ends up helping him much more, until they’re both down to the bare minimum of clothing and tucked neatly under the blankets. Percy squirms, never quick to settle in unfamiliar beds. He does finally lie still, knees tucked against the back of Vex’s thighs and his breath warm and comforting at the back of her neck. He hasn't started snoring yet, though Vex thankfully tends to fall asleep before he does.

Percy will almost certainly remember what he’s said tomorrow morning, but that’s to confront tomorrow, Vex thinks. And her answer won’t have changed in that time.


	6. a family affair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Technically this one doesn't have the actual proposal, but...close enough.

Percy starts with telling Cassandra his plans, because he’s vowed to be a better brother to her and because marrying Vex (if she agrees) will have significant effects on Whitestone, and Percy has also been making an effort to be a little less terrible as Whitestone’s technical lord. His decisions affect more than just himself, and Percy is working on remembering that. He knows he’s not doing particularly well with that, because as selfish as it is, Percy is glad they are all still alive, even if that includes Raishan. Letting Raishan escape was...perhaps not the best thing they could have done, but starting a fight with Raishan was also perhaps inevitable.

There is the requisite guilt at having let his emotions rule him and firing on Raishan after Vex fell, when he should have targeted the weakest points - those eggs. But there is also a swooping, nauseating horror at the memory of Vex dying again, the imagined possibility of losing her forever. Guilt, Percy can live with. He has plenty of practice with that. He _cannot_ live with losing Vex, which has led him to the current discussion with his sister regarding his proposal.

“I’m confused,” Cassandra says slowly, lowering her cup to the table. She folds her hands, elbows on the table, to create a resting point for her chin in the same way their mother had so many years ago. “You’re acting as though this should come as some shock to me.”

“It is a rather important decision for Whitestone,” Percy explains. “Not just myself and Vex. I thought it best to broach the subject with you before asking her.”

“Sorry.” Cassandra looks even more confused if possible, eyes narrowing as though trying to read something illegible on Percy’s face. “You haven’t asked her yet?”

“Cassandra, we only just became a couple within the last months,” he says, a hint of annoyance weaving into his voice. “I thought perhaps I was moving fast, but you…”

Percy trails off as the shocked look on his sister’s face morphs, transforming into an expression of helpless mirth a moment before she tries to politely cover a small burst of laughter. Shaking her head and sighing, Cassandra takes a long drink of her tea while Percy searches for whatever it is he has obviously missed in this conversation.

“Percival,” Cassandra starts once she’s set down her cup again. “Either you are much more gifted with dry and poorly timed humor than I assumed, or a complete idiot.”

“I’m sure I’ll be even more insulted when you tell me what that is supposed to mean.”

“Oh, come on.” Cassandra rolls her eyes, instantly looking no older than her eighteen years. “You must think I’m some kind of simple if you think I haven’t seen how you and Vex act around each other. You’ve been obvious from the moment I met her, so you may as well stop trying to...save my expectations. I don’t exactly think you’ve lived as a ‘proper noble’ and kept out of each other’s beds for all this time. I’m only surprised she’s not already wearing a ring. You’ve never been terribly good at doing things halfway.”

It takes a while - and a whole hell of a lot of Cassandra repeatedly telling Percy he’s a _moron_ \- but he does explain how he and Vex most certainly were not together when they’d first arrived at Whitestone. He stumbles over recounting Glintshore, a sore subject for both of them, and then glazes over the kiss he’d shared with Vex after Vorugal’s slaying. He does more than that in telling her about just before the fight with Thordak, not meeting Cassandra’s eyes as Percy goes over only the pertinent points of their ‘talk’.

By the end of it, Cassandra is no more impressed with her brother’s romantic abilities than she had been at the start. She does give her blessing, agreeing that even if Vex doesn’t take to the position of leadership as well as they both think she will, Vex _is_ already a noble of Whitestone by decree, and, more importantly, she will make Percy happy.

“That’s really the most important thing,” Cassandra says, looking older than her years with the weight of too much experience in her eyes. “None of us have had enough of happiness in recent years, I think. And if we must face another dragon assault in the coming months as you suspect, I do believe we’ll all be stronger for the stability. As well as more loved ones to fight for.”

It feels incorrect to ask for Vax’s permission, even though tradition dictates Percy ought to ask Vex’s brother if her father is unsuitable (as he most definitely is). Percy is actually pretty sure Vax would either inform him how stupid the idea is, punch him again for the presumption, or simply laugh in Percy’s face. There is someone else Percy feels needs to be asked, but there is the slight problem that Trinket can’t speak Common and Percy can’t speak bear.

“Can you cast speak with animals on others?” Going to Keyleth isn’t exactly a last resort, but Percy is hesitant. He would trust Keyleth unquestionably with his life, but not necessarily with his secrets. Not this one. Keyleth is liable to tell _just one_ person to share her excitement and that is a very slippery slope.

“Uhh,” Keyleth starts, nose scrunching as she thinks. “I don’t...think so? I can certainly try.”

“I need to speak with Trinket,” Percy explains, avoiding the actual subject. “I’d rather have the conversation myself if possible, but if that can’t be done, would you translate? It is...of the utmost importance.”

As it turns out, Keyleth cannot cast anything to let Percy speak with Trinket directly, so he’s left with having to have her translate the discussion. He knows from talking to Vex that Trinket can generally understand common, if not always perfectly, then well enough. It doesn’t stop Keyleth from translating everything Percy says, of course, but he does feel a little more dignified for not having to attempt the grunts and moans that make up Keyleth’s side of the conversation with Trinket.

“That’s what this is about?” Predictably, Keyleth gets entirely distracted from the task at hand when Percy gets around to the point, grabbing one of Percy’s hands in her excitement. Her face falls a moment later, more serious and a little concerned. “But isn’t it kind of...soon? I mean, Vex told me about - after Vorugal - how you kissed her. But you guys _just_ got together.”

“I’m not asking today,” Percy says, squeezing Keyleth’s hand reassuringly. “And honestly, if Trinket doesn’t approve, I’m prepared to let the whole thing go entirely. But I’m done wasting time. We get to the potential ends of our lives far too quickly to keep putting things off.”

Keyleth nods and turns to Trinket, reasking for Percy whether Trinket would be alright with Percy asking Vex to marry him. Whether he thinks _Vex_ would be alright with it. Percy doesn’t let himself fidget during the few moments of bear noises, and breathes a sigh of relief when Keyleth turns to him with a smile.

“He doesn’t really get the whole marriage idea I don’t think,” Keyleth says with a shrug. “But Trinket says you make good mates.”

They spend a while longer chatting with Trinket, some of it devoted to helping Trinket’s understanding of human (and half-elf) marriage. That bit requires a bit of creativity, but Trinket seems to approve of the idea of Percy being his mom’s life mate and is looking forward to being the ring bearer once Keyleth brings it up. The pun is irresistible in how terrible it is, and Percy knows Vex will love it. They swear Trinket to secrecy, which is something of a task, though Keyleth gets across the importance of the surprise somehow, as far as Percy can tell. He tries not to worry about Trinket letting it slip too much and swears Keyleth to the same secrecy.

It doesn’t last, but not for the reasons Percy would have predicted. Keyleth doesn’t tell anyone right up until Scanlan somehow figures out she has a secret she’s keeping and Percy curses the fact they ever gave him a book to make the bard even _more_ persuasive.

“So I hear you’re going to make Vex an honest woman,” Scanlan says in the middle of a meal, and Percy has to check if there’s anyone else around to hear it. Scanlan is by turns incredibly blasé about privacy or shockingly empathetic about it, and it’s hard to predict which it will ever be. It appears this situation is the latter, because there is no one within sight.

“Keyleth told me,” he goes on when Percy frowns at him. “But don’t worry, I won’t tell.”

“Of course you won’t,” Percy agrees, deadpan. “Unless you _really_ can’t help yourself.”

“I resemble that remark,” Scanlan says, hand placed over his heart as if he’s been dealt a grievous insult. “I can be sensitive, especially for such a joyous occasion.”

“That’s much appreciated, Scanlan,” Percy says with only a touch of sarcasm. There is sincerity underlying Scanlan’s words, but he wouldn’t have brought it up so abruptly for nothing. “What exactly is it that you want?”

“Nothing, nothing at all! I just want to make sure you know I will gladly be your wedding singer once you get around to actually making it official.”

“It’s been _two days_ since I told Keyleth,” Percy says somewhat defensively. “And we’re slightly busy at the moment rebuilding Emon. It’s not as though I’ve been screwing around for years with this.”

“But you _have_ been dancing around each other,” Scanlan retorts, his gaze too keen and knowing, and Percy abruptly remembers Scanlan is much older than the rest of them. “Just because you only started bumping uglies recently doesn’t mean you’re really rushing into things. I’m not _blind_ , just crass.”

Percy has to give him that, but he certainly doesn’t have to admit it out loud.

“Anyway,” Percy breezes past the abrupt dip into truth. “You can only sing at the wedding _if_ you swear not to overdo that crassness of yours and _if_ you make sure Vex doesn’t find out I’m planning it and _if_ Vex says yes. There’s always every chance she won’t.”

“Percival,” Scanlan says disapprovingly. He stands, putting him just tall enough to pat Percy’s shoulder when he rounds the table. “You’re supposed to be smart, buddy.”

Now that Scanlan knows, Percy figures it’s only fair to tell Pike. Partially because Pike is the only person he trusts to keep Scanlan in line with his inevitable planning, and partially because having the approval of half of their family already makes Percy confident enough to ask Pike to officiate. As Whitestone nobility, Percy ought to be married by a priest of Pelor, but then Percy is a sub-par noble at best, and his ties to Vox Machina are strong enough he can only imagine having Pike perform the honors.

Grog is with her when Percy tracks Pike down a few days later, which is predictable if not ideal. The Vasselheim temple is up and running well enough without Pike, and to be honest, everyone is a bit hesitant to leave Whitestone in the uncertain climate following Raishan’s escape. Percy, for his part, has spent plenty of hours theorizing and constructing defenses for the city to prepare for the eventuality of an attack. He regularly kicks himself for ever falling for Raishan’s deception and allowing her into Whitestone, but they can only prepare now. It surely won’t be enough, but it is all they can do.

“Good afternoon.” Pike and Grog both look up in tandem at Percy’s raised voice, pausing their work on the door intended to cap off the temple’s entrance. Percy thinks distantly of the heavy door to Pelor’s temple and almost considers asking them to work in some sort of failsafe to open the bloody thing. “I wanted to discuss something with you, Pike. Grog is welcome, too.”

Pike glances at Grog, shrugging easily, and they both lay down their tools. The others working alongside them shoot them curious glances, three members of Vox Machina and the lord of Whitestone convening for a private discussion in the middle of the day. Percy ignores the attention, following Pike and Grog into a side chamber.

“So what’s up?” Pike asks, climbing onto a table to sit on top of it nearly at eye level with Percy.

“I’m going to ask Vex to marry me,” Percy says, deciding not to beat around the bush. “And I wanted to ask you to officiate if she says yes.”

“Ohh!” Pike’s hands come up to cover her mouth, eyes wide and surprised. “We talked about you guys, but...I didn’t know it was that serious.” She blinks, dropping her hands and looking thoughtful. “Well, I guess I sort of knew. Okay, yeah, now that I think about it.”

“You’re getting married to Vex now?” Grog asks, interrupting Pike’s slight rambling.

“Not _now_ now,” Percy says, shrugging one shoulder a bit helplessly. “But I do intend to ask her soon, and hopefully she’ll agree to it.”

“Vex isn’t dumb,” Grog says with a decisive nod. “And everybody knows she’s in love with you since that ritual when you were dead.”

“What...what happened at the ritual?” Percy asks, brows furrowing. “I only remember bits and pieces, but I don’t remember anything that would...well.”

“She kissed you,” Pike says gently, a soft and fragile smile on her face. “And she as good as said she was in love with you.” She glances at Grog for a second, then back to Percy. “Nobody wanted to tell you for her, but...we all knew.”

“Ah.” Percy isn’t quite sure what to say to that. It feels a bit unfair that apparently _everyone_ knew how Vex felt about him, and Percy had only been guessing. He’d thought for a while that there was something between them, at the very least attraction, but it had never seemed fair to ask Vex to take that leap with him. At first he’d been in no state to involve himself with anyone, let alone Vex, who was so very... _much_. And then it had been too risky to jeopardize what already was for what might be. And then Vex had made her speech in the forest, all forgiveness and earnest hope and it had simply been too much not to kiss her, not to show in some way how truly marvelous Percy thinks she is and how much her friendship and regard and faith meant in that moment.

He’s glad, so very glad, that he took that leap of faith, and it makes the next jump a little more easy to take.

“Of course I’ll officiate,” Pike says when Percy’s been silent long enough he surely won’t say anything more. “I’d be insulted if you didn’t ask me.”

“Thank you, Pike.” Percy nods. “And you’ll keep this between us? I’d really rather have it be a surprise for her.”

“Oh yeah,” Grog says, chest puffing a bit in self-assurance. “We’re great at keeping secrets. Can we tell everybody else?”

Percy sighs. “Well, Vax is the only one who doesn’t know, so I suppose there’s no point in trying to keep you all from gossiping incessantly in the interim.”

“You should tell him,” Pike suggests. Percy is inclined to agree, though he really doesn’t want to. But Vax may well kill him if he ever finds out every one of their friends knew he was going to ask Vex and Vax was the only one out of the loop. It’s not asking permission, Percy tells himself, even as he can feel his palms sweating a bit.

When he finds Vax, Percy has absolutely no idea what to say to him, so he opens his mouth and hopes for the best. It doesn’t often serve him well, but it’s no worse than the mishmash of anxiety running through his head.

“Vax, you know your sister is very dear to me.” Percy stops momentarily at Vax’s raised eyebrow, pressing on a second later when Vax doesn’t say anything. “And with everything that’s happened recently, I’ve been aiming to waste less time. There’s too much risk in our lives not to take advantage of every moment, and I - well. I don’t want there to be any question of how much Vex means to me and what my intentions are. So I’m going to ask her to marry me, and I thought you should know.”

Vax is quiet for long enough Percy almost starts fidgeting. He stands straighter instead, as his upbringing taught him to, until his spine almost aches from the posture.

“I do hope this isn’t you asking for permission,” Vax drawls finally. “Because Vex’ahlia is the only person who can give that.”

“It isn’t,” Percy assures him. “This is me letting you know what I intend to do out of respect for you. And I’m not asking for permission because I respect Vex too much to believe she needs anyone else’s approval or permission.”

“You have learned,” Vax says, nodding approvingly. “I won’t pretend I think it’s the best idea, but you do seem to be good for each other. Just know I’m fully prepared to kick your ass if the need arises.”

“If the need arises, I welcome it.”

Vax smirks at that, and Percy can relax his shoulders. The rogue walks toward him, hand out, and Percy meets it with Vax’s hand clasped around his forearm. The other smacks somewhat gently into Percy’s shoulder in a friendly gesture.

“And that’s why I’m fine with this,” Vax says. “I know you don’t need my permission, but you’ve got it.”

Percy nods, surprisingly overcome for a moment by the wave of relief Vax’s approval brings. And well, that’s everyone important, everyone who matters in their found family, so all that’s left to do is ask Vex’ahlia. There’s no more reason to delay, and frankly, Percy doesn’t want to.

He’ll ask her tomorrow. Percy would rather the day be theirs entirely, though it’s symbolic at best and only a single day of separation from his discussion with the others. If Vex wants a different ring, they can of course discuss that, but Percy has the ring his mother once wore, saved from the loot taken by the Briarwoods.

In the morning, he fetches it out of the chest in his room and sets out to locate Vex. There’s a bit of nerves that Percy classifies as healthy, along with a more than healthy dose of anticipation. Percy thinks - hopes - he knows what Vex’s answer will be, and he can’t wait to ask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was really a challenge for me...I have no idea if I did the fam justice, but I did try!


	7. wait for it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set almost immediately after episode 80, when night falls and our heroes rest.

 

 

Vex didn’t hesitate to go to Percy’s door when they turned in for the night, ostensibly safe though it didn’t feel like it at all. They are just one of many couples curled into each other, counting breaths between them like diamond chips spilling from their mouths.

Vex has already seen to her brother, whispered to him what he had missed because she couldn’t bear to keep secrets from him, and let him stroke her hair while she clutched his shoulders and admitted the terror of knowing death a second time. She parted from Zahra hours ago, and knows that somehow Zahra and Kash are sharing space the same way she and Percy are, the same way Vax and Keyleth are, Kima and Allura, countless survivors that Vex has never met. All of them, in this moment, are connected by the gossamer thread of relief and gratefulness.

She can still see every detail of Percy’s face in the darkness, if not the color of his eyes and the subtle flush of life in his cheeks. It is enough every time he blinks. Vex suspects they’ll both spend much more time awake than asleep tonight, and none of it spent doing what lovers normally do on sleepless nights. Every one of their family is exhausted and they are no exception.

“Tell me a story,” Vex whispers, when the spaces between Percy’s lashes falling and rising are too much. She can imagine in those seconds that she is really gone, or he is again, and everything crumbles. Her fingers go numb for a heartbeat where they are laced with his and trapped between their chests. Vex flexes them to be sure, feels Percy’s answering squeeze, and breathes.

“I’m not a very gifted storyteller,” Percy says, matching her volume. His voice goes rough when it’s low, though it’s less pleasant now than it usually is. Vex could almost pluck the grief and worry from the air where his words have landed in front of her.

“I don’t care.” She shifts, bumping her knees against Percy’s. “I just want to listen to your voice.”

“Alright,” he agrees after a moment of silence. “But only if we can move a bit.”

Vex nods without thinking about it, single-minded in her desire to have everything continue for as long as she can stand it. The world seems about to stop at any moment. Percy shifts and lets his body speak for his intentions, Vex following like her own limbs are tied to his will without having to hear it. When he stills, Percy is laid at her side so his head rests just under her collarbone, knees bent to surround her legs, and Vex doesn’t pretend she doesn’t understand exactly what he’s done. Her heart must be pounding in his ear.

“Once upon a time there was a princess,” Percy starts. Vex puts the hand that isn’t still laced with his into his hair, petting absentmindedly. Some of the tension leaves him, leeching some of hers along with it, so she keeps going.

“Like many princesses, she wasn’t just a princess, but the victim of a magic spell.” Percy stumbles, pausing as words fail to come to him. He is much better at working with his hands, but Vex doesn’t care what the story is, and he tries. Which is by far the more important thing.

“Her spirit was split between two bodies at birth,” he goes on, and Vex catches on immediately. “The curse was meant to weaken her, but the princess was too strong-willed to fall prey to it. So she and her other half found ways to make their separation work against those who would see them fall. She learned of the forests while her other half learned of the cities, so they could face any challenge that came to them if they faced it together. In this way, they passed many years defying the world’s expectation, even leaving their royal home to make their way without the burdens of a family who could never understand or see past the curse.”

Vex listens as the story winds on. It’s poorly constructed as Percy improvises and forgets details, hastily scraping together an entirely fanciful retelling of Vex’s own history. The phrases are beautiful, if nothing else, and Vex gets her wish to have the thread of his voice to hold onto. Her eyes are closed, almost relaxed enough to consider sleep when Percy nears the end of his story. Tangled in the white of his hair, Vex’s fingers slow as the story draws to a close.

“They were all broken, in the end, carrying pieces of souls and the ragged ends that beg for healing,” Percy murmurs, almost into Vex’s skin, close enough she can feel his lips move against the bare skin of her chest. “The princess stopped trying to break the curse and realized she hadn’t wanted to for many years. She loved her other half dearly and found that the spirit she carried alone was more than enough.”

“You forgot the part about falling in love,” Vex says quietly, voice more at ease than she could have predicted. “There’s always true love in fairy tales.”

“Of course,” Percy agrees in the barest whisper. It scrapes out of his throat in a pained drag that Vex can almost feel in her own. She can guess as to what it is he’s remembering, while Vex can only think of the raw feeling in her throat after she’d watched the life leave him, screaming until she was hoarse. Her fingers shake in his hair just slightly, but she doesn’t dare pull away, pressing closer if anything.

“She met a handsome prince as princesses do,” Percy goes on after a few breaths. “Though she saw him for a prince long before he saw it in himself. She saved his home and his heart and he could do nothing but give it to her, as she had taken such better care of it than he ever had. They fell in love like stained glass with their broken pieces creating something far more beautiful than either could have imagined.”

Vex lets the ending be as it is, hoping he’s right and they won’t have made a terrible mistake with each other, that they can make each other better than they were before. It is a frightening road she’s chosen to take in letting go of the vengeance that had driven her so long, and she knows Percy struggles with the same choice, the loss of a target to aim for in the far distance. They are both of them built for ranges, terrified in close combat, but perhaps they can learn together.

“And they were wed and lived happily ever after.”

Vex’s hand stills, cupped over the back of Percy’s head and buried in the fine locks of his hair. Her breath stalls for only a second, until she remembers what it was not to breathe at all and Vex can’t stop the panicked desire for the next breath. Percy’s hand in hers tightens, his head pressing further against her chest, closer to her heartbeat as it picks up and stutters too fast.

“Percy…”

“I think we deserve a soft epilogue, my love,” he says in a strangely calm, focused tone. “We are good people and we’ve suffered enough.”

“Are you quoting?” It sounds unlike his own words, from the phrasing and the tone of voice, but Vex can’t be sure.

“Yes,” Percy says. “Though I believe it. I’m not sure if we can manage a happy ending. I’d like to, but we don’t every time get what we want.”

“Percy, if you’re trying to ask me,” Vex flounders, not at all ready to even hear that question, let alone answer it. It was only yesterday that she first heard Percy say he loves her in so many words.

“I’m not,” he assures her. “Not today. But I think I will. When there’s a future to offer.”

“I’ll be more than happy to get there with you.” Vex resumes her playing with Percy’s hair, slower and dragging her blunt nails across his scalp every now and again. “We’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us yet. But when we get to the ending, it won’t be alone. Not if I can help it.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who left kudos and reviews! I was honestly blown away by how lovely your comments were, and very glad I could bring people some happiness between stress-filled Thursdays. Here's hoping the good vibes continue!


End file.
